Toward Greater Understanding of the Pernicious Effects of Workplace Envy

Despite the fact that envy is widely viewed as one of the most pernicious and dysfunctional workplace emotions, research has ignored its longer-term consequences. This oversight can largely be attributed to over reliance on the relatively static affective events framework that does not account for how envy-eliciting events can threaten an individual’s perceptions of social standing or trigger emotional schema from previous events. Hence, we propose an extension of this framework in order to address these shortcomings and in order to account more fully for the cumulative effects of prior envy-eliciting events. In particular, by integrating insights from social comparison and emotional schema theories into the current framework, we offer a deeper, more fine-grained explanation of the cumulative effects of emotionally congruent envious episodes. We believe that these additional insights will offer a perspective, for researchers and practitioners alike, into how envy-eliciting events can result in more malicious and chronic behavior. Future research and managerial implications are discussed.This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Taylor & Francis and can be found at: [http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rijh20/current#.VEb6wmNPJm0.Keywords: social comparison, envy, emotion, emotional schema, affective events theor

The Process Of Ostracism Message Reception And Meaning Making

Ostracism is defined as the exclusion of an individual or group by an individual or group. Research suggests that being ostracized can create severe negative psychological reactions in targets. However, there is much less research explicitly focused on how ostracism is communicated and the process of meaning making that allows a target to interpret communication as an ostracism message. Through grounded theory and qualitative interviews, this study asked: What is the process of interpersonal ostracism message meaning making, and what are the key elements that influence this process? Analysis revealed a seven-phase process that explains the stages of meaning making a target will go through during an ostracism event and eleven important factors that affect this process. After a discussion of each phase and factor, the study incorporates Relational Dialectics Theory, Expectancy Violations Theory, and Uncertainty Reduction Theory to conceptualize ostracism as an event as opposed to a single moment, suggesting that meanings are ever changing. The study concludes that targets of ostracism play a crucial role in the reception and interpretation of ostracism messages. Finally, the study proposes limitations and directions for future research